opus sectile
Opus sectile is a decorative technique using cut pieces of marble, stone, or glass fitted together to form patterns or images—distinct from mosaic, which uses small uniform pieces called tesserae.
The term comes from Latin meaning "cut work." Found in ancient Roman floors and walls, it allowed craftsmen to create elaborate figurative scenes: The villa's opus sectile panels depicted mythological subjects.
- porphyryCrystalline igneous rock texture
- flooringSurface underfoot material
- marbleRecrystallized limestone rock
- mosaic artArt from arranged fragments
- tessellationGapless plane coverage
intarsia · alabaster · onyx · polychrome · Roman Empire · jasper · public baths · lapis lazuli · wall panels · Pompeii · tilework · Byzantine Empire · marquetry · altars · fragments · Renaissance Italy · inlay · stone
- classical decoratrium, friezes, mosaics, wall paintings, marble floors
- mosaicsRoman mosaics, Roman mosaic, glass mosaic, tesserae, Venetian glass
- Roman artfrescoes, Roman art, mosaic, Roman statues, Roman mosaics
- Roman Villasvilla, atrium, peristyle, domus, hypocaust
- Byzantine artByzantine style, Hagia Sophia, Ravenna, Byzantine icons, mosaic tiles
- medieval arttapestry, ivory carvings, Book of Kells, fresco, Lindisfarne Gospels